Generation of extreme pulses on demand in semiconductor lasers with optical injection

The generation of extreme intensity pulses in an optically injected semiconductor laser is studied numerically by using a well-known rate equation model. We show that step-up perturbations of the laser pump current can trigger extreme pulses. We study the perturbation parameters (amplitude, duration) that are more likely to trigger a extreme pulse, and compare the properties of the generated extreme pulses with those spontaneous emitted, which are due to the intrinsic deterministic dynamics of the laser. We study how the phase of the optical field evolves during the pulses and compare both types of pulses (generated by external perturbations and generated by intrinsic nonlinear dynamics). We find that in both cases the phase dynamics is similar with an abrupt rise and fall: as an extreme pulse begins, the phase grows abruptly and reaches a local maximum at the peak of the pulse, then, when the pulse is over, the phase falls down to a value which is similar to the one before the pulse started.